What I'm hearing about SEC teams in Week 4
Each week, Matt Hayes uses his sources around the country to bring you insider knowledge about what’s going on in the SEC ahead of this week’s games.
This is what he’s hearing from SEC coaches and NFL scouts in Week 4 …
Is Drew Lock legit … or a bully who beats cupcakes?
I spoke to an NFL scout earlier this week about Missouri QB Drew Lock, and his first big test this season against Georgia. “There’s this myth out there that he hasn’t played well against ranked teams, and that’s just not true. Last year, specifically, he played really well. The Georgia game is a prime example (4 TD, 1 INT). I still believe that had he applied (for the NFL Draft) last year, he would’ve gone to the Combine and his measurables would’ve been off the charts and he would’ve been picked in the first round.
“He came back to increase his stock, and this game this weekend is how you do it. These are the games where you see arm talent, vision, leadership, moxie. All those things we look for in a guy you want to be your franchise player. He’s playing against the elite of college football. Here’s where you get an idea of what you have.” …
Feleipe Franks or Jarrett Guarantano?
I asked an SEC coach who he’d take if he had to choose between Florida QB Feleipe Franks and Tennessee QB Jarrett Guarantano? His response: “I’d punt a lot.” Both Franks and Guarantano were elite recruits in the 2016 class, and both have struggled since winning the starting jobs in 2017. They’ll go head to head this weekend in Knoxville. “To be fair, those two both have the arm to make every throw, and they can do some things in the run game, especially Jarrett. But neither one of them sees the field, and by your third season, that should be second nature. I don’t blame them, I blame coaching. I was told long ago that if a player isn’t playing the way you want him to play, more times than not, it’s your fault. Those two (coaches) there now are trying to retrain everything when they should be refining right now.” …
What about Alabama’s run game?
Lost in the hype of Tua Tagovailoa and the new-look Alabama offense is a nagging concern about the foundation of the Saban era: the run game. In three games against overmatched defenses, Alabama has just two running plays over 26 yards (one for 26 from Najee Harris, one for 43 from Damien Harris). The Tide use multiple tailbacks, and Harris leads all rushers with 203 yards on 30 carries.
Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Texas A&M, meanwhile, is No. 14 in the nation in run defense, giving up 87 yards per game and 3.5 yards per carry. Clemson ran for 115 yards on 32 carries, and its leading rusher was QB Kelly Bryant (54 yards).
One NFL scout: “It’s too early to say any number of things, including they don’t run the ball like they used to or their focus on the passing game has changed the way they do business. I don’t believe either – yet. I do believe, however, that they’re not as physical in the middle (center, guards) as they’ve always been. The only way to know for sure is what happens when you line up against an active and physical front seven?” …
Miss. State at Kentucky: bigger than you think
An important, under the radar game: Mississippi State traveling to Kentucky. Have the Wildcats turned the corner under coach Mike Stoops in big games after ending a 31-year losing streak to Florida? Can Joe Moorhead continue State’s mastery of UK (8-1 in past nine games) built by former coach Dan Mullen? “This is the world we live in, and we all know it,” one SEC coach told me this week. “Joe could lose that game against a really good Kentucky team – not your granddad’s Kentucky team – and Lord knows there will be some nut jobs screaming about how Dan Mullen used to beat Kentucky. Every week is a grind in this league. A punishing grind. Just ask Notre Dame what it was like dealing with Vanderbilt. Or Washington about Auburn, or Miami about LSU.” …
Vandy is a dangerous underdog
Speaking of Vanderbilt and another wildly important and overlooked SEC game: the Commodores playing host to South Carolina, which hasn’t played since being embarrassed by Georgia in a game the Gamecocks had pointed to all offseason. Vandy needs this game to prevent a backslide and momentum lost – especially considering a fortunate schedule (Arkansas and Ole Miss on the West Division rotation; Georgia the only real threat in the East) could translate to winning 9 game for the first time since James Franklin won 9 in back-to-back seasons (2012-13). “This is Derek’s best defense yet, and that’s saying a lot,” one SEC coach told me. “They’ve always been quick in the front seven, but now they have size. Now they can line up and hit you in the mouth. They’re not going to be an easy out for anybody.” …
Jake Fromm is Georgia’s best player
An NFL scout on the Georgia quarterback situation: “I know it’s fun to say Georgia has two quarterbacks who can win a championship, and they’re good with either guy. Trust me, (Jake) Fromm is the best player – not quarterback, player – on that team. He’s smart, he’s talented, he’s tough; he can make every throw and the guy does not get rattled. I was blown away by his composure and control last year, and he has gotten better at everything this season. He has such a command of that offense and what they want to do.”
Bama is averaging 5.5ypc… They seem to be spreading the ball around more this year and you dont have hurts running all the time because he was afraid to throw it.
That 5.5 ypc is very misleading, as it includes 3 second halves of runs by 4th-6th string backs against 8 man fronts that know Alabama is just killing clock. Damien Harris is 7.4 ypc and Najee Harris is 6.8. Problem is that they’ve combined for only 54 carries in 3 games. The simple truth is that Tua and the WR’s have been so unstoppable that there isn’t a need to run at this point, particularly when teams are still loading the box against Alabama out of habit.
I agree. My point was Bama isn’t really having any issue running the ball and just like you pointed out the games have gotten out of hand so fast they haven’t needed the starters much…
I’ll agree almost all the offensive stats in bama’s first three games are misleading, yet so many talking heads are declaring this bama team as “the best ever”. It’s a good possibility the Aggie secondary has problems against Tua and those receivers. It’s the weakest part of our defense. I’ll just say you will get a better idea of where your running game is against a decent front seven. and that’s a bit refreshing to even think that as an Aggie fan after the last few years.
AAAHHHHH!!!! Alabama isn’t averaging 275 YPG on the ground!!
The sky is falling!!
Yep. Only a sorry 236ypg isnt going to cut it..
Aggierider…. Bama may get an idea about the run game but it’s also possible that Bama passes it around the yard until the game is well out of reach before really putting it on the ground if your secondary is weak….. That’s part of the difference in Bama this year. They aren’t just going to line up and try to pound it as their only option. The offense is wide open.
BamaTime.. Yeah, that’s why I put that qualifier in there. It’s not that the secondary is terrible. They have got burned on a couple of one-on-ones deep, but most of those “explosive” plays, guys were in position, it was simply poor tackling. We’ll see.
Very true about Lock and the Georgia game. If he does well and keeps Missouri in it until the end, his stock goes way up.
Even Kentucky wouldnt hire Mike stoops.
Something tells me that Mr. Rodgers never talked to that NFL scout about Jake Fromm.
Drew Lock is a championship level Quarterback. He’s gotten better each year.
I hope Georgia’s DB’s are all healthy for this game. They already have a true freshman and a sophomore with little experience starting. If J.R. Reed can’t play, that would take it down to only one DB with any experience.
ALA: When you score 50 points in the 1st half, you dont need run plays that net 20+ 30+ yards. You need run plays that eat the clock.
The “NFL scout I spoke to” reminds me of the New York Times’ “anonymous sources within in the White House”.
Anonymous sourcing has always been apart of journalism. When an anonymous source is used, it doesn’t mean some random person gives a random story. The journalist who writes the story actually knows the source and has vetted not only the source, but the story itself. It’s basic journalism. We used to know this, acknowledge this, accept this, and know it to be true. I wonder why all of a sudden we question it? Hmm… What could have changed….
I think the general perception of the media has shifted in the USA due to the polarization of the different media outlets and their subsequent treatments of the matching political figures, be it Fox News or CNN. From a neutral standpoint, I’d be less inclined to trust something from CNN due to the large number of stories they’ve had to redact for falsehoods/incorrect statements.
The issue is that the mindset of people nowadays is that they don’t want to put in the effort to go over facts and statistics and instead just want an outside confirmation of their set opinion. The media has seen an obvious profit to be made in catering to this attitude and went for it. Hence, conservatives will go to Fox News, Breitbart, etc., and liberals will go immediately to the NYT, CNN, NBC, etc.
My two upset specials this week: UK and Vandy win.
I’m not a Georgia fan, but I agree about Jake Fromm. I could tell what the scout is talking about when I saw Fromm in the Georgia spring game. He’s just got something extra.
Really… Is anyone who has read this seriously worried about Bama’s running game? With that line and that stable of backs? Stop it… This team may average 50 points a game during the season and it all will not come from passing. Right now they are simply taking what the defense gives them. When they run up against a better defense, they’ll run it more and do just fine doing so.
Fromm… Some clown said he wouldn’t even be drafted when he comes out a few days ago. Barring injury, this kid will find the NFL. Solid arm strength, allowing himself to grow within the system and taking what the defense gives him. He does need to find the middle of the field a little more, especially since Georgia is LOADED at this position and it tends to open up the middle to the run.